Nicolas Greco’s history is typical of the last early century bottiers. Born in 1877 in Sicily (birthplace still unknown), following the family tradition, he learnt his trade from his father, then he went abroad to find his career. He arrived in Paris in 1900, the year of Universal Expo. He was 23 years old.

Greco stayed in Paris a couple of years working for different shoemakers. Then he went to London, where he worked at the Maikoff Brothers for six months upon returning to France. In 1904 he opened his own workshop in Paris, Rue Duai 18, with a handful of workers. A year later he was already branching out and moving to another shop down the road (street number 14). Right before the War he managed about fifty employees and forty workers.

After the war, in 1918, he moved to the new headquarter, in Rue des Capucines, 4. The official name of the company was Compagnie française des établissements Gréco, Chaussures. He opened a new shop in Nizza in 1920 and a year later in luxurious seaside towns: Deauville, Biarritz, Cannes. Aix-les-Bains opened in 1927.

In 1934 he bought the company of another bottier of Italian origins, the Ducerf Scavini et Fils and his connections with other Italians shoemakers continued with Capobianco, who learnt his job at Greco.

Greco launched in 1936 a line called Grecosport, ready-to wears models for sport occasions and continued his activities up to World War II.